The Dragons of Tehaim
by TheReptile
Summary: Tensions are growing between the prejudiced non-exalts and the privileged Dragon-Blooded of the city of Tehaim. As the rift between the lower class and the nobility gets wider, the threat of a full uprising is palpable, while a dark force aims to manipulate things to its own ends...


There is never a quiet moment on the docks of Tehaim. A constant stream of ships streams in and out from the River of Tears and the Yanaze, the two great rivers on whose intersection it sits, bearing goods of every variety in their holds. Food, trinkets, weapons, raw materials, animals and people; all pass through the city in huge quantities, and there is rarely a moment day or night when the docks aren't filled with workers loading the wares on and off the ships. Quite possibly the busiest part of the whole city, they are the lifeblood of Tehaim. Without the docks, there is no easy trade, with no trade there is no way for the shops to do business and with no business the city starves. Tehaim lives and dies by the water.

As well as its most vital organ, the docks are also one of the most dangerous parts of the city. Rigging equipment can fail, sending crates tumbling onto poor unfortunates below. Wares can turn out to be incredibly dangerous, whether it be enchanted amulets that paralyze with a touch, volatile cargos of firedust or exotic animals made aggressive by fear or hunger. Pirates posing as merchants sometimes make their way into port to steal shipments, thieves and muggers lurk in the patchwork shadows, and not all of the creatures that live in the deep, dark waters are friendly. Dock workers are used to danger and the sight of the city's lawmen and martial forces.

So it should come as no surprise that on a humid, sweltering morning in the month of Ascending Earth, they paid little attention to an armored seventeen-year old girl giving chase through the crowd after a fleeing man with a sack.

The Dragons of Tehaim

Chapter 1

Hanu wasn't sure how he got into this mess. Well, that wasn't strictly true. He knew the reasons. They were just completely insane. He ran as hard and as fast as he could, the muscles in his legs screaming as he barreled forward. He knew the docks like the back of his hand and he figured he could lose her there. Maybe he could get lost in the crowd. Maybe he could hide in a barrel or a crate or behind some goods or _something_. Hell, push come to shove he could just jump into the river and try and make his escape there. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get rid of the girl on his trail.

"_Crazy bitch!" _He thought to himself in panic, eyes stinging with sweat as his matted hair stuck to is face his, lungs burning from the constant exertion as he pushed his way through the crowd. "_How is she keeping up?"_

"Get back here, thief!" A shout rang out, but Hanu had no intention of complying. This girl was crazy, but she couldn't keep running forever. He kept throwing crates and barrels into the girls path, trying to trip her up,slow her down, anything, but she just danced around them as if they weren't there, her pursuit tenacious, and when she launched herself over a stack of barrels careening towards her after he cut them loose with a plume of flame that's when he knew he was well and truly fucked. Running into one of the warehouses he let himself get lost in labyrinthine stack of crates and barrels, and soon he heard her run into the warehouse after him. Quietly he climbed the stacks to the warehouses ceiling, the girl unaware of his presence. He was almost there, he was almost home free.

Or so he thought, when he slipped on a barrel when he was at one of the ceiling windows, sending it tumbling down to the ground with a racket. The girl's attention drawn to him, her face sneered with rage.

"You!" She roared, after which started launching herself towards him with more plumes of flame, setting the wooden crates and barrels ablaze.

"Oh fuck." Hanu muttered to himself as he climbed through the window onto the rooftops. He had a head start and he needed to take advantage of it while he could. Sprinting as hard as possible he leapt across the flat warehouse rooftops when the tremor of an explosion knocked him off his feet. Looking back he saw a fireball and plume of smoke from where the warehouse he was just in was, and the girl quickly closing distance.

"_Holy shit," _He thought as he smelt the distinct odour of a mix of sulfur and burning brick, "_there was firedust in there?_"

Scrambling to his feet, his attempt to resume his escape was cut short by the girl tackling him and launching them both off the rooftops. The girl's grip was like iron, but Hanu was still crafty even in situations like these and twisted himself so that he and the girl would switch positions to ground, the girl landing back first with Hanu ontop of her. The wind knocked out of him, and the contents of his sack crushed, he scrambled back to his feet and tossed it aside, red juices leaking onto the ground and ran across the stone pavement of the docks, body aching from the tackle, the landing, the constant running, everything. However, the girl merely kipped up onto the balls of her feet as if she and with terrifying roar of anger launched herself after him, jets of flame bursting from her feet with every step, increasing her velocity and leaving a trail of fire in her wake and knocking aside wayward crates and barrels along with any passerby who didn't manage to get out of the way in time.

"_Shit shit shitshitshitshit!" _Were all the words Hanu's mind could think of as he continued his life or death sprint. Right now he wasn't concerned with getting away, he was much more focused on making sure she didn't kill him. Hearing the carnage behind him, Hanu took chance glance over his shoulder and saw she was mere feet away, ready to grab him...

At which point his legs promptly gave out, and the girl, moving too fast to come to a sudden stop, tripped over his prone body into a large stack of crates, which then promptly proceeded to collapse onto the girl. Hanu gave a nervous chuckle as he tried to climb back up, but his body was in no state to comply, and before he could even give a serious effort he was grabbed and hoisted up to his feet by a man in similar gear to the girl. Shackling him up, the man then proceeded to try and dig her out, and when he finally pulled her out her hair was lightly flickering, small embers glowing in parts of it Upon seeing the man her face quickly changed from that of rage to that of a sheepish, mild terror.

"Oh... uh..." She started nervously, "Hello Lieutenant. Uhm..."

"All this," He interrupted, expression stonefaced as his lack of amusement in regards to the current scene showed as he overlooked the carnage around them, with the burning warehouse, the destroyed cargo, and the workers and passerby strewn across the dock, some moaning softly in pain, "All of this, Hala, for a sack of tomatoes."

* * *

"6 Jade bars for the damages you caused to Realm goods, 15 Shekels for Realm merchant and sailor reparations, 24 Pounds for damage to city goods, 1 Silver Talent, 5 Dirham and 4 pounds for the warehouse and the stock it had and gods knows how much we'll have to pay for workman's injuries compensation..." Back at his office in HQ in the High District, Lieutenant Wukecha listed off the price of every piece of damage Hala caused during her chase, voice getting louder and more irritated as he progressed along the list, while the girl just stood there in full lamellar fear grimacing sheepishly.

"What do have to say for yourself?" He asked, although his tone of voice made it clear the question was rhetorical.

"Well... uh... I..." She stammered nervously as she tried to find an answer that wouldn't get her yelled at. Unfortunately she was a bit too upfront for her own good "I... I... he stole a bag of tomatoes! In clear view of everyone in the bazaar! What was I supposed to do, just let him get away with it?"

Wukecha facepalmed at her reply, knowing full well it was coming, but that didn't really do much to dilute the stupidity of the statement.

"And this justifies you tearing apart an entire dock chasing after him and causing gods know how much silver and jade in damage?" He responded back, voice and face making clear his annoyance, "You need to learn _discretion_, child. Restraint. Holding back. Reading the situation. Awareness of your consequences, hell, keeping your damned temper in check would help us by several magnitudes, but you never seem to learn no matter how hard I pound it into your head."

He sighed in exasperation as he turned his back to Hala, facing away from his desk towards the map of Tehaim on the wall outlining the districts of the city the various cases he was looking into. Hala didn't dare to move or make a sound as she still stood at attention, waiting for him to address her again.

"Your grandmother assigned you to me so I could watch over you, Hala." He finally said after several minutes of silence. "She figured I'd be able help temper and discipline your impulsiveness and tempter. 'She could be great', she told me, 'She just needs someone to show her how', and I was assigned to be your superior. That also means it's my call to determine whether or not you're a fit for police duty."

"Wait," Hala interrupted him despite knowing better as the gears started clicking inside her head "What exactly are you saying?"

"What I'm saying, Initiate Hala," He answered cooly as turned back to face the girl, voice lacking any of the irritation present before and now simply filled with solemn resignation, "Is that as of now you are suspended from the Tehaim Police Force program of the Tavara Armed Forces. As of this moment, you have no authority as an officer of the law and are limited in official martial action to situations given clearance by Gens Tavara and its patriarch and military head.."

"What." Hala simply stated, eyes so wide that Wukecha could see the emerald green in them even from several feet away. "What!? You... you can't do that!" She screamed in rage as her temper started flaring again and embers started glowing in her hair, much like they were back at the docks. For what it was worth, Wukecha didn't flinch as she approached his desk and slammed her fists onto it, knocking most of the paper work on it into the air, locking eyes with her now former commanding officer in the police force. Despite the anger she felt, however, she could feel her eyes tearing up in spite of her best efforts not to hold it back. "I'm a Tavara! I... I'm a member of the Tavara Armed Forces! Who the hell's ever heard of Tavara Exalt who's part of their Gens Armed Forces but not the city's police force!?"

"I believe you might be the first in several generations." Came a woman's voice from behind Hala. Turning around sound herself face to face with a woman appearing to be in her mid 20's walking through the doorway, dressed in the armor of Tavara's Armed Forces and wearing two colored sashes, one bearing the crest of Gens Tavara and the other the symbol of Tehaim's police force, each signifying her rank as commander of both. Making her way past Hala, she avoided eye contact with her as she moved to join Wukecha behind his desk. "But you're not the first, Hala, and I highly doubt you'll be the last. This is for your own good."

"Commander Neferi." Wukecha responded, making a small respectful bow to the woman.

"Lieutenant Wukecha." She replied in turn, though not reciprocating the bow.

"Gram, you can't be serious!" Hala blurted out, having lost control of herself at this point. "You're seriously taking me off the force? After how much I _begged _you to let me on you're taking me off?"

"In case you need reminding, Initiate Hala," Tavara Neferi responded, Hala flinching lightly as her Great Grandmothers glass blue eyes were as cool as her tone, "I was against you being assigned to the police force so soon into your training in the first place. But despite my better judgment that you should have waited a few more years, the rest of the Gens insisted on you being put on the force as soon as possible... despite the 'questionable' facets of your personality when it comes to law enforcement. They insisted that getting experience on the job would be the best way to learn and wouldn't listen to all my arguments to the contrary."

"What." Hala answered back flatly. "What have I done to imply that I don't have the personality for law enforcement."

"Oh, I don't know," Neferi answered back as she started getting a coy little smile on her face, subtle enough that Hala couldn't see it but Wukecha started sniggering despite himself. "How about the time you got into a fist fight with one of the children when you were six because he pulled one of your braids? Or when your response to a girl in school teasing you was walking right up and headbutting her? I recall that incident ended with a broken nose and an even more broken ego for the Bilunos... Or what about the time involving the prank involving the tar and feathers-"

Hala's face took on a look of mild terror at the mention of that ass her Great Grandmother continued her reminiscing. "Okay, okay, you've made your point, Gram." She suddenly interjected, cutting her grandparent off. "Okay, I get it. I've got a short temper." She finally conceded, exasperated. "But is it really so bad I have spend time off the force?"

"Let's see, 6 jade bars for damages to Realm goods..." Wukecha started, his smirk by now having gotten as large as he could permit without laughing.

"N-never mind." Hala cut him off once more before he could continue, starting to get the feeling that now the two were just keeping her here so they could continue their light teasing and let out a small sigh. "Can I... can I go home? I sort of feel the need to hit something right about now."

Neferi gave another smile, this one more of a maternal sort as she went over and gave her granddaughter a small hug.

"Of course you can, dear." She said, giving a light kiss to the girl's forehead. "Be sure to tell your parents what happened when you get home, and don't leave anything out. I don't want them breaking down the door to my study demanding to know why their daughter was relieved of duty."

Hala nodded as she turned and left Wukecha's office. Seeing her go, Neferi closed the door and turned back to face the elder looking man, her face once again bearing the stoic mask she had upon first entering the office. Approaching the desk as the elderly looking officer took his seat behind his desk, she looked the officer of twenty years in the eye. "Now then, Lieutenant." She asked, "How goes your assignment?"

* * *

"Sorry to see you go, Hala." Dessed told her as he escorted her out out of the building, "You were always a lot of fun to hang around with off the job. At least it was an exciting couple of months while it lasted."

"Oh _yeah_," The girl retorted, outside of her lamellar armor and back into her casual wear: a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun our her eyes, some bracers on her arms, and a nice eastern style dress/shorts combo with a small jacket over it, with the dress showing off a bit more leg than was perhaps normal. It wasn't for pure fanservice though: The extra legroom gave the girl more freedom to move whenever she felt the urge to just run and start climbing something, which she got surprisingly often. No, the extra fanservice was just an added bonus. "You know, what with my constant screw-ups, like the failed stake out, my attempts at interrogation, constant property damage..."

"Hey," Dessed shrugged, "Not all of our stories can be winners. Besides, it's not like you're being kicked to the curb with nowhere to go."

"No, I guess not." Hala replied, having finally calmed down after getting riled up back in Wukecha's office. Now that she had gotten the aggression out of her system after beating one of the stations training dummies into a fluffy pulp, she felt the need to just walk about the city and let her mind wander. "Anyway, see you later, rookie." She said, sticking her tongue out playfully at the 24 year old mortal.

"Oi, who are you calling a rookie," Dessed shot back, expression slightly annoyed, though his professional appearance did little to intimidate her, brown hair cut short and combed back, face clean shaven and officers armor kept in pristine shape. Indeed, Hala liked riling him up just to break that illusion of professionalism he meticulously crafted for himself. "I've been on the force for three years now, and you are the _last_ person who should be calling _anyone_ rookie, kid." He said, putting some emphasis on that last word. Laughing, Hala simply just ran down the stone road of the city, ponytail of auburn hair swaying in the wind as she did so, doing a quick cartwheel as she ran off. Shaking his head and sighing, Dessed made his way back into the building. "Always and energetic one," He muttered to himself, a small smile on his face as he went back to his work.

Pushing as hard as her legs could comfortably force her to go, Hala continued her sprint down the street. Unlike her chase earlier in the day, frantic and spastic as she focused on catching her target, this time her pace was steady and almost leisurely, her body practically going on autopilot as she allowed her mind to wander. This was how she relaxed, not walking through a garden, or by lounging in a bathhouse - although she was by no means adverse to that, of course, sometimes a girl's got to take a nice hot soak - but by physical exertion. Thoughts of the day already being pushed to the back of her mind, Hala's eyes started weaving through the crowd of people on the streets as she masterly weaved her way through without losing any speed, with more than a few jumping to get out of her way as she ran by, and more than a few of _those_ shouting curses at her as she ran off. Not that she cared. All that mattered to her right now was what was in front of her and making sure she didn't crash into it.

Catching a peddler dragging a full cart behind her in the corner of her eye, Hala grinned as she started picking up speed behind her, and once she was lined up properly pushed off the ground onto the cart. Almost as soon as she landed on the crates being hoisted she jumped again, grabbing hold of the roof of the building on the side of the road and started hoisting herself up, as the peddler looked behind her confused as to what just happened and unaware of the Dragon Blood using her cargo as an impromptu jumping pad. Tehaim's rooftops were like a second road to Hala and those who knew how to navigate them, and Hala loved the extra challenge to navigation they allowed as she climbed over the outcroppings of the rooftops, using them as a sort of impromptu obstacle course when it fancied her and a convenient shortcut when her little citywide escapades would attract some unwanted attention Ascending and descending where necessary, Heart racing as she went deeper into the Business District, Hala finally started slowing down as she approached the general area of her destination. Making her way down to the street, Hala was finally in much better spirits as she slowed her pace and made her way into her personal favorite shop, the Jade Pheasant.

"Greetings, oh lowly common folk!" She declared with a mock sense of self importance as she flourished grandiosely in the entrance of the sparsely populated teashop. "Your princess has arrived! You may now flower me with praise and adoration as you see fit."

"Oh shut up and take a seat, Spitfire." Shouted the voice of an old man from the back of the shop, with Hala's expression deflating in response.

"Well that's one way to ruin someone's fun." She muttered as she went to sit at her usual table by the kitchens, looking over the shop to see who else was there. Not seeing much save for a small group of people on the other side of the shop consisting of a few men, women and maybe two teens, she didn't wait long when an elderly balding man appearing to be somewhere in his sixties arrived with her tea.

"Yeah, well, you should know better than to say things like that." He told her sternly, "You know some folks will take it a bit more negatively than others, and you _definitely_ know some mean statements like those more seriously than you. Not a good time to be in the same room when those two sorts of people get in the same room. Makes me want to take that hammer I have in the back to the head."

Hala raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "Oh, I know this mood. What's got you irked this time, Coyote?"

"Don't you worry about what's got me annoyed, Spitfire." The old man said, face unchanging as he took a sip of his own, "Just go and drink your damn tea. I'm not giving you another freebie if it goes cold."

"Alright, alright," Hala conceded, chuckling as she took a drink our of her glass. She knew better than to try and pry information out Coyote when he didn't want to give it. "So how's business, old man?"

"Business is fine," He answered, with Hala trying to stifle a chuckles as she looked around the teashop whose population consisted of the two of them, the two waitresses and the small group in the corner. "Laugh if you want, Spitfire, but after that little stunt you pulled today I'm gonna be getting a lot more tired workers who're not gonna want to have to wait to go home to get a drink."

Hala cringed slightly as the chase was referenced. "Heard about that, huh?"

"The entire Business District heard about it, girl." He told her sharply, almost as if he were berating her. "Granted, most of the city doesn't know it was you who did it, but I know better. What dastardly criminal were we chasing after this time? Pickpocket? Vandalizer?"

"They... uhm... they stole..." She mumbled, blushing slightly out of embarrassment, "Uhm... a bag of tomatoes..."

Coyote visibly resisted the urge to smack her across the back of the head as he snorted in disapproval. "You've got to learn control yourself, girl. If I hear a bunch idiots coming in here ranting about how some crazy Dragon Blooded girl blew up a warehouse again I think I'll lose it."

"Well you don't have to worry about that." She said. "As of now I am indefinitely suspended from the police force starting immediately. Apparently Gram thinks I'm too, as she put it, 'impulsive' to stay." She stuck out her tongue as she air-quoted the word impulsive.

"Yeah, well, impulsive is an understatement." Coyote told her flatly. "When most of your arrests ends with considerable property damage, I'm inclined to agree with Neferi. Woman always did know what was best for you."

"Yeah, yeah," Hala said dismissively. "At least it leave me with more free time to come bug you more often." She the said teasingly as the old mans expression grew somber. Sensing something was wrong, Hala's curiosity was suddenly piqued. "What's wrong?"

"It may best if you don't come so often for a while." He answered quietly. "Things have been getting a bit rough lately."

"What?" She asked again, sense of inquisitiveness preventing her from dropping the issue. "What do you mean rough?"

Coyote sighed as he finished his tea. "The folks in the Low District are getting riled up again. Starting to rant about preferential treatment to DBs again and how the normal folk are getting pushed aside for the Exalts. That bunch over there," He said motioning towards the group over on the shops other side, "Are from the same dock you blew up today. Said something about having to hire some new hands to clean up the mess and a few are worried that they may get replaced by some DBs to speed things up."

"That's crazy." Hala replied as her expression got serious. "They wouldn't lose their jobs just because a few Dragon Bloods are looking for some work, right?"

"Can't answer that, just like I can't guarantee you would be able to come down here without stirring up trouble. All depends on the individual hiring. I know Biluno's people would take 'em. The folks are starting to get anti-Dragon Blood around here, and since the city's cracking down on protests group they're just getting more riled up."

"Well, yeah." She responded. "They keep getting in the way of city commerce and disturbing the peace, so why wouldn't the police crack down on unauthorized protests? If they just went through the proper channels they wouldn't have to worry."

. "Because the last time the city cleared one of those rallies, Spitfire, was before I even came to the city." Coyote answered, voice almost condescending as he told her. "I'll never say the Dragon Blood need to be removed from power, but they do need to get their heads out of their asses if they don't want the city to explode from under their feet. Anytime the common folk get too loud for their own good the council calls in the police to break 'em up, claiming they're 'disturbing the peace'. I've seen more than a few good men have been thrown in prison just for speaking out against the oppression going on here. The common folk are getting restless and all those in charge are doing are teaching them to work in the shadows. The most recent ones have stuck to moving underground just to keep out of sight. Been hearing rumors about a more recent one taking a more militant stance. Following some sort of freedom fighter or whatever they call him.. Bah! I've seen the sort people like the one they're following. Men like that are either full of hot air or are worse than the people they're trying to get rid of." He poured himself another cup of tea and downed it in one gulp. "They're the one who burned down Tebiu's shops a few weeks ago. The entire District knows it, but they won't co-operate with the police, no matter how hard they pry."

"Wait, how do you know th-" She started before she took on a playful cat like smile. "Ah, bet it was Gram, wasn't it." At that Coyote did in fact give Hala a good thwap on the head, or attempted to in any case as the girl ducked under his swing, giggling. "Now you listen to me, girl." He told her sternly like a grandparent scolding their grandchild. "Neferi isn't the only officer who comes to me to find out what's going on in this part of the city. So quit with your little insinuations. Little quips like that to the wrong people will get you in trouble so learn when to keep your mouth shut. It'll help you in the long run and if you want your grandmother to start giving you bigger responsibilities you'd do well to learn it quickly."

"I... see..." Hala replied as she saw the other group get up to leave and then seeing that it was almost nightfall. "Oh shit!" She exclaimed as she realized the time. "I gotta get home, I was supposed to tell my folks... oh gods Gram is gonna kill me!" Darting up, she dashed out of the teashop as fast as possible, but before she could see where she was going collided with one of the girls sitting with the group at the other table as they were leaving. "Ack! Sorry, sorry so sorry!" She pleaded apologetically as she tried to get up, a bit too frantic to really form coherent sentences.

"Urgh..." The girl said as she stayed on the ground rubbing the back of her head. "What's the big idea?"

"Sorry, I really am I didn't see where I was going but I have to head home oh gods didn't realize it was getting so late Grams gonna kill me!" Hala rapidly let out as she dashed down the road as fast as she could back towards the High District.

"... Oooookay." The girl responded. "Well that was random." One of the boys went to help her up. "You alright, Kanya?" He asked, a look of concern on his face. "Nothing hurt or anything?"

"I'm _fine, _Duma." She answered sharply as she got back up. Brushing herself off once she got to her feet, she looked down the street Hala rand down. "What was her problem?" She said as she dragged the young man named Duma down the street towards the Low District toward their home.

* * *

Closing up for the night, the old man called Coyote resigned himself to playing a quiet game of Gateway with himself in teashop, honing his skills at the game by looking for any flaws in his strategy. With a nice cup of tea to his side and a pipe in his mouth, he enjoyed the peace and quiet while he could get it. He was well known throughout the Low District as a gruff curmudgeon who nonetheless was someone the community could rely on. He had plenty of advice to give to anyone who asked it, made a killer cup of tea, and always lent an ear to anyone who needed someone to talk to during a difficult time, and perhaps most importantly was rather popular with the Dragon Bloods who decided to frequent his teashop, oftentimes calling it home to the best tea in the city. Despite this, however, no one knew exactly where he came from. He just sort of showed up in Tehaim nearly 30 years ago and has been there ever since, and all he had ever said about his past before coming to the city was that he was a traveller of the Scavenger Lands, and he certainly had the knowledge to back up those claims.

So it wasn't any surprise to him when people started coming to him for help with their problems. He agreed to help out on the small stuff, leading projects to fix up some beaten up parts of the neighborhood, things like that. But then people started coming to him about their frustrations in the social order. They were being discriminated against, they always told him, with the Dragon Bloods doing everything they could to keep the mortals in the city down. Coyote, of course, always brushed them off. He never had any interest in driving away the Dragon Bloods in the city, partly because they were good tippers, but also because they were in charge for a reason. He had seen how cities run by mortals who had no idea what they were doing turned out. If the mortals in Tehaim put themselves in charge, they'd just be making it a large target for either Lookshy or the Guild in Nexus up the river, and they'd have no way to keep the city from either being wiped out or taken over. No, he reasoned, things were better this way. It might not be comfortable, but it was better, more stable. Of course, there were those who wouldn't listen to words, but Coyote found a good hammer to the skull was always a good deal breaker in those sorts of situations. Soon enough, most of the extremists got wise and left him alone for the most part.

Some, however, never seem to have gotten the memo as Coyote heard the door to the shop open. "Oi, read the sign." He muttered, attention still on the gameboard in front of him. "We're closed."

A soft chuckle behind him told him the visitor was a woman as he felt her move to take a seat to the table behind him, backs facing each other.

"Good evening, Coyote." Was all she said to start, talking as if they were just old friends catching up with each other. However, the old mans expression shifted to one of both caution and annoyance, although he didn't give the woman any immediate signals that she had his full attention. "How was business today, hm?"

The old man harumphed as the woman spoke, still giving the gameboard his full attention. "My business is none of your business, girl. I already told you time and time again, no. Coming back every damn night isn't going to change my answer."

"Come now, Coyote." She responded. "Can't I just want to pay a respected leader of the community a visit to see how he's doing?"

"No." He answered sharply, impatient with the womans false pleasantries. "Now stop playing nice and get to the point, girl."

"Oh, that hurt." She said, laughing softly as he heard movement behind him before feeling her arms lightly embrace him from behind. "It's not playing, my dear old man." She whispered into his ear. " I have great respect for you, truthfully, as does the entire city. It's the only reason I haven't had your little shop burned down for refusing our offer repeatedly."

Coyote slightly shifted his hand underneath the table, lightly fingering a wooden handle out of caution. "If you did that your little group would lose all the support they have." He spit back, "The only reason the people in the Low District haven't turned you over is because you keep your operations to Dragon Bloods. The instant you come after me is the instant the rest of the city sees you all for the hypocrites you are, and you know," He added onto the end, "It may just be worth it."

"Hmph. You're a strong man, Coyote, even in your old age." She pressed her hands against his body as the definition and tone of his musculature could be felt through his gi, product of routine daily exercise for decades. "But even you have your limits. There is a storm coming, old man, and you would be wise to join those who can shelter you from it."

"I've faced a lot of storms in my time, girl." He answered back, voice as strong and confident as it was before. "None of them have broken me yet, and you can tell your Seer or whatever he's called that he'll be no different."

He heard a tch behind him and he knew he struck a nerve. "The Prophet," She said in annoyance with a slight hint of rage in her voice, fingers digging into his chest like claws, "Is unlike any storm you've ever weathered, old man." She released him from her embrace as he heard her head towards the door to leave. "And he is not as kind as I am, Coyote. He doesn't need you, and the only reason he hasn't come for you himself is because I talked him down from it, out of the genuine respect I have for you. But if you keep refusing us, even I may not be able to hold him back."

Coyote snorted, still looking at the gameboard. "Tell me, why are you so keen on hiring an old tea shop owner such as myself anyway? Surely your dear Prophet can find someone else to fix his drinks up for him"

"Oh dear Coyote," She answered, "You wish that's all he wanted. If you only knew what the Prophet knew, you would see why we he wants you." And with that, she left the shop as quietly as she came in, and as Coyote listened he swore he could hear the sound of wings. Moving the last piece into the winning position, Coyote sighed in resignation, releasing the handle of the hammer he had under the table as he felt the blood seep out from the marks she left in his chest through his gi. "... I feel cold." He muttered as he got up from his seat to prepare himself for a long, cold nights rest.


End file.
